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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25413808">Caught a Bug</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBrokeThe4thWall/pseuds/IBrokeThe4thWall'>IBrokeThe4thWall</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Fluff, Gen, Pillow &amp; Blanket Forts, Sickfic, Turtle Tots (TMNT), Vomiting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:15:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25413808</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBrokeThe4thWall/pseuds/IBrokeThe4thWall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Raph has caught the stomach flu, and all he wants is for it to go away. It's up to his family to help him feel better while he's sick.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Caught a Bug</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A sick-fic one-shot requested by a lovely anon on tumblr</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Raph woke up slowly but not in a good way. His stomach felt tight, too full and too empty at the same time. His mouth was dryer than Donnie’s sense of humor. It was hard for him to lift his head from his pillow, let alone the rest of him from bed. His body ached all over, and he felt hot and cold at the same time. Any movement at all made him feel dizzy and nauseated. All in all, the seven-year-old snapping turtle felt awful. He wanted to go back to sleep.</p><p>“Boys! Time for breakfast!” Splinter shout was loud enough to fully awaken Raph.</p><p>Not wanting to worry his family by skipping breakfast, Raph got up. When a chill ran up his shell, he pulled his thick red sweatshirt over his head then sluggishly made his way down to the kitchen. It was a miracle he didn’t tumble down the steps with how heavy his body felt! Taking a moment to regain his balance, the snapping turtle paused at the kitchen door to watch his younger run past him in a frenzy as their father set the table.</p><p>“Morning,” Raph mumbled, rubbing at his eyes and swaying on his feet.</p><p>“Good morning, Red,” Splinter greeted his eldest son. He glanced at the snapping turtle mutant and gave him a worried look. “Although, <em>you</em> do not look so good right now. Did you not sleep well last night?”</p><p>“I slept fine,” Raph said with a shrug. He actually wanted to go back to bed. However, he didn’t want to worry his family, even if he felt like absolute garbage with his stomach twisting in every direction.</p><p>Splinter hummed, giving Raph another once over and carefully sniffing the air around him. The rat mutant opened his mouth to say something, but Donnie started pounding on Leo for shoving him into the wall. It was enough to give anyone a headache with the way Leo was yelling “It was an accident!” the entire time. With Splinter’s attention drawn away by his brothers’ middle-child nonsense, Raph lifted himself up to the table next to Mikey. His stomach gurgled loudly and a wave of nausea hit that the snapping turtle found difficult to fight down.</p><p>Mikey gave Raph a concerned look and said, “Maybe you if to eat you’ll feel better.”</p><p>Mikey could be right, but with the way Raph’s stomach flip-flopped at the thought of food… The snapping turtle shrugged and glanced at what Splinter had made for breakfast. Scrambled eggs loaded with cheese and veggies, bacon piled high, bananas sliced up in a bowl, and a plate of toast sat upon the table. The sight and smells were overwhelming.</p><p>One a normal day, Raph would usually pile as much food onto his plate as he could get away with, but right now it was all too much. The way the cheese oozed around the eggs made his stomach churn. He could smell the grease that was starting to congeal on the bacon. The bananas were riper than his fear stink. The only thing Raph thought he could tolerate was the toast. It wasn’t fair! Pop’s scrambled eggs were the best!</p><p>Splinter successfully broke up Donnie and Leo and got them settled at the table. While they and Mikey eagerly plated their meal, Raph reluctantly grabbed a piece of toast. He stared at the lightly burnt slice of bread for longer than he truly needed to and carefully took a bite. It was a struggle to even swallow the toast with how dry his mouth was.</p><p>Splinter, Donnie, Leo, and Mikey stared at him in shock. Splinter rounded the table and felt his eldest son’s forehead and immediately pulled his hand back. Raph had a fever. Turtles were cold-blooded and <em>not</em> supposed to get fevers, but since his sons were mutated with human DNA, they didn’t follow that law of nature. His eldest son was sick.</p><p>“Raphael,” Splinter said softly, rubbing the snapping turtle’s cheek, “what is wrong?”</p><p>Raph wilted into Splinter’s hand. He didn’t want his dad to worry! But he couldn’t lie, not when Pops used his name like that.</p><p>“My belly just hurts a little is all…” he answered.</p><p>An acidic taste began to rise from his throat, and Raph <em>knew</em> what that meant. He snatched a cup of water from the table and took a gulp to keep the sensation at bay.</p><p>“You sure, Raph?” Donnie asked, pushing his glasses up to examine his older brother.</p><p>“Yeah,” Leo agreed. He leaned on top of Donnie to get closer. “You look greener than normal.”</p><p>Raph shook his head quickly and stuttered, “I’m o-o—urk!”</p><p>The snapping turtle slammed his hands over his nose and mouth. The smells were too much. He shouldn’t have shaken his head that fast. The acidic taste was getting worse. Raph couldn’t fight it any longer. He ran to the bathroom, vaguely aware of Splinter calling out to him.</p><p>Raph barely lifted the toilet seat up before his stomach finally gave the great lurch. Sharp, vile, and burning from the bottom of his throat to the tip of his nose, he retched as his stomach contents emptied into the bowl. Tears pricked at the poor child’s eyes from the pain and humiliation. The smell was more foul than any stink he’d given off in his life, and the I-just-puked-stink he was giving off now was <em>awful</em>. A hand rested on his shell as the vomiting eased to dry heaves. Raph looked up to see Splinter frowning in concern.</p><p>“Let’s brush your teeth and get you back to bed,” Splinter said, lifting his son to his feet.</p><p>Raph wiped at his mouth, grimacing at the sick that soaked into his sleeve. His mouth felt fresher after brushing his teeth, but his stomach still rebelled against his body and he was <em>tired</em>. Splinter carried the snapping turtle to his room, replaced his soiled sweatshirt with comfy pajamas, and tucked him into bed.</p><p>“I-I couldn’t hold it in anymore,” Raph said shakily. “Pops, why’m I sick?”</p><p>“It’s okay, Red,” Splinter placed a hand on the snapping turtle’s shoulder. “Sometimes we just get sick and need help getting better. And right now it looks like you have a stomach bug that needs to be taken care of.”</p><p>“I <em>hate</em> bugs!” Raph shuddered. Bugs were as bad as puppets!</p><p>“I know you do,” Splinter laughed. “I’ll find something that will help get rid of it. Just sit tight and rest.” He patted Raph’s head then left his son’s room. He saw the other three turtles loitering just outside the doorway. “Purple, Blue, Orange, I need you three to keep an eye on Red for a little while. He isn’t feeling well, and I’m going to get him something to help with his stomach. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”</p><p>Donnie, Leo, and Mikey watched Splinter throw on his “Randall” disguise and slip out of the Lair. The three gave each other a nod before splitting up. Donnie headed to the living room, Leo went to the laundry room, and Mikey dove into the bedrooms. It wasn’t often that they got sick with anything beyond a cold, but the turtles knew how to help make their big brother feel better.</p><p>Raph rolled over in his bed with a groan. His belly felt awful! Every little movement made him want to—“Blergh!”—<em>made</em> him hurl. Why did he feel like this? He was just fine yesterday! Now he was puking, aching, dizzy, and tired. He couldn’t tell if the sharp odor in the air was vomit or his sick-stink. The snapping turtle closed his eyes, curling up in a ball and wanting Splinter to come back already.</p><p>When something soft thumped against his head, Raph cracked an eye open. Mikey was tossing stuffed animals and pillows onto his bed. Donnie tied the bag in his trashcan, replaced it, and carried the sick away with a pair of kitchen tongs. Leo stumbled in with his arms laden with blankets and sheets. Raph slowly pulled himself to sit upright and stared at his brothers with concern.</p><p>“Guys, Pops said I’ve got a stomach bug,” the eldest turtle warned. “You’re gonna get sick too if you’re here!” The last thing he wanted was his little brothers to catch what he had.</p><p>“Dad told us to keep an eye on you,” Donnie shrugged, booting up his secondhand laptop as he sat at Raph’s side. “So we’re making a blanket fort to watch movies in.”</p><p>“We’re not gonna watch you be sick <em>and </em>be bored at the same time,” Leo said from where he stood on the edge of Raph’s bed, hanging blankets and sheets in a tent overhead. “So pick a good movie before Donnie plays a documentary or something else lame.”</p><p>Donnie glared up at his younger twin but did nothing beyond that. It was very telling how concerned he was for their big brother that he didn’t start arguing with Leo that his documentaries weren’t lame.</p><p>“But I don’t want you guys puking up your <em>spleens</em>,” Raph countered.</p><p>His belly really hurt from all the retching, and his brothers didn’t need to go through that. Speaking of, Raph pitched forward as his stomach once again revolted against him. He dry-heaved into the waste bin Donnie shoved into his hands.</p><p>“Do you <em>really</em> want us to go?” Mikey asked sadly. His eyes shined from his best puppy-dog pout.</p><p>“No…,” Raph mumbled. He took one look at his baby brother, saw all the effort his siblings were putting into helping him feel better, and replaced the trashcan clutched to his chest with a teddy bear. The snapping turtle felt awful and scared and didn’t want to be alone. He wanted his brothers to stay.</p><p>Mikey immediately brightened. He climbed up onto the bed to rearrange the pillows and stuffed animals around the fort. What good was a blanket fort if it wasn’t comfy? Leo dropped a blanket over each of his brothers’ shoulders, and all four drew closer together as Donnie started a Jupiter Jim movie. Raph lay on a pillow incline, pulling his blanket up to cover everything but his eyes. Donnie and Leo lay on either side of him, and Mikey draped himself over the snapping turtle’s spikey shell. Raph finally felt warm.</p><p>It wasn’t until an hour later, when Jupiter Jim and Red Fox were separated by alien robot vampires, that Raph felt his stomach flop once again. He shot out of the pillow fort and tumbled out of bed for the trashcan set just by the edge. Mikey fell back with a shout, but Donnie caught him without hesitation. The snapping turtle retched and dry-heaved. He just wanted to be better already! A sob escape from the snapping turtle as he tightened his grip on the trashcan. Leo slipped down from the bed and rubbed Raph’s trembling shoulders.</p><p>That was the scene Splinter walked into when he returned to the Lair—Raph sobbing with Leo at his side, Mikey and Donnie fighting tears of their own as they clung to each other, and all of them turning to him as though he had the answer to end this suffering. It was true that the rat mutant’s arms were laden with plastic bags filled with bottles of ginger ale, a special rehydration drink, and liquid Pepto-Bismol. However, he wasn’t sure if any of them would work for a mutated snapping turtle, but he had to try for the sake of his ailing child. Splinter placed the bags on the ground then knelt by Raph’s side.</p><p>“Purple, Blue, Orange, go wash your hands,” Splinter ordered gently. “I’ll take over from here.” After watching Donnie and Mikey slip off of the bed and trudge slowly after Leo out of the room, Splinter focused completely on Raph and hefted the snapping turtle into his arms. “Alright, Little Red, back into bed. I’ve got some medicine and drinks that will help your belly feel better.”</p><p>“What is it?” Raph whimpered, balking at the thought of drinking anything regardless of how thirsty he felt. He’d just puke it back up again!</p><p>“The pharmacist said to take one capful of this medicine every hour to help manage the puking,” Splinter explained, laying Raph back inside the pillow fort, “and to drink some ginger ale and this special juice to help keep you hydrated.” He poured some ginger ale into a cup on the bedside table, handing it and a small medicine cup full of pink liquid to his son. “Take small sips.”</p><p>Raph held the medicine cup to his mouth, squeezed his eyes shut, and gulped it down. He gaged on the taste—like those heart candies they had found in the dumpsters after Valentine’s Day—and immediately sipped the ginger ale. The fizzy drink was welcomed, soothing his throat and dry mouth.</p><p>Now all Raph felt now was tired. His eyes grew heavier by the second, and with Splinter rubbing his head and humming, the snapping turtle didn’t stand a chance for staying awake. He sank into the pillows and stuffed animals that had remained from the emergency exit he made, and a blanket was tucked around his shoulders. It wasn’t long before Raph was fully asleep.</p><p>After he was sure his son was asleep, Splinter closed up the fort as best he could and left to check on Donnie, Leo, and Mikey. They had been worried about their brother when he had sent them out earlier, and they deserved an update. He didn’t need to search for them for very long. They were sitting across the atrium in Leo’s doorway, huddled together with their eyes glued on Raph’s room.</p><p>“You three did a very good job watching over Red while I was gone,” Splinter praised his children. He smiled at each of them. “He is sleeping now, so I want you all to be very quiet for him.”</p><p>“That should be easy enough,” Donnie said. It was easy enough for him to tinker quietly in his budding lab, and surely his younger brothers had some games in the arcade that wouldn’t cause disruption to Raph’s sleep.</p><p>“Is Raphie gonna be okay, Dad?” Mikey asked.</p><p>Leo followed up by asking, “And is what he has contagious?”</p><p>“He should be better in a day or two with plenty of rest,” Splinter said. “However, I don’t know how contagious he is at the moment. Don’t touch your eyes or mouths after being around Red without washing your hands. Did you all wash them like I told you?” He sighed in relief when he received three nods. “Good.”</p><p>Hours later, Raph woke up feeling better than he had that morning. His stomach was still cramping, and his body still ached; but the snapping turtle didn’t feel exhausted after just waking up. His mouth felt dry, though. He saw a bottle of the special juice Splinter got for him on his nightstand. Picking up the bottle, Raph read “Pedialyte Cherry Punch” on the label. He didn’t really care for cherries but, remembering his father’s advice, took small sips anyway. He still felt like puking, but he managed to get down a few mouthfuls before putting the bottle back on the nightstand.</p><p>A moment later, his father and little brothers peeked into his room. Mikey carried a plate with a slice of perfectly tanned plain toast and an unpeeled banana and placed it beside the bottle on the nightstand. Splinter gave the snapping turtle a once over.</p><p>“How are you feeling, Red?” Splinter asked.</p><p>“Still kinda puke-y,” Raph said slowly, “but I feel a little better.”</p><p>“It may take a day or two until that feeling goes away, son,” Splinter said. “Have some more medicine and try to eat some food.”</p><p>As Raph grimaced at the taste of Pepto-Bismol and slowly ate the toast to get rid of its flavor, Donnie, Leo, and Mikey crowded in front of him. They looked up at him with varying degrees of worry.</p><p>“Is there anything we can do for you, big brother?” Donnie asked.</p><p>Raph picked at the hem of the blanket pooling around his legs and shyly mumbled, “…Stay for a while?”</p><p>Splinter chuckled as his sons climbed onto Raph’s bed and reorganized the blanket fort so it would be more accommodating to the four turtle mutants and their rat-dad. Raph truly felt content when his father joined them and placed him on his lap, blanket wrapped over his head and teddy bear clutched to his chest. Donnie picked up the laptop from where it was tucked between the nightstand and bed and started up the Jupiter Jim movie from the beginning.</p><p>Raph felt lucky to have a family that cared so much about him. For the next two days, he had been sick. His brothers and Splinter were always checking in on him, making sure he was staying hydrated and eating, rubbing his shell or head when he did puke, and keeping him company when he asked. The snapping turtle got stir-crazy at times from how smothering his little brothers could be (He had to argue with Mikey to get out of bed to use the toilet!), but he knew it was all out of love. Raph usually did the same thing and coddled Donnie, Leo, and Mikey excessively if they so much as stubbed a toe. He was just happy that his brothers never caught what he had.</p><p><em>However</em>, a few weeks after Raph recovered from his stomach bug, something weird happened with their dad. Splinter caught a fever, cranked the AC down to its lowest setting, and shaved off all of his fur. It was the most terrifying sight any of the young boys had ever borne witness to. Then he started attacking, cuddling, singing way off key, writing crossover fanfiction, and just freaking out all of the young turtles. It only stopped when they all yelled at Splinter to act normal again. He almost immediately complied! This sickness was later dubbed the rat-flu, and it would plague the five mutants more than any other sickness they would ever contract.</p>
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